


Secrets in a Glass of Scotch

by LiterallyThePresident



Series: SI-9 [1]
Category: King Falls AM (Podcast), Wolf 359 (Radio)
Genre: AU, Frickard dies, King Falls Am spoilers, Minor Violence, SI-5 Sammy, Wolf 359 spoilers, post-Wolf 359 canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-26
Updated: 2018-10-26
Packaged: 2019-08-07 18:45:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,389
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16413812
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LiterallyThePresident/pseuds/LiterallyThePresident
Summary: An au where Sammy works for Goddard Futuristics





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So in this world, Sammy Lily and Jack weren’t radio hosts but SI operatives. The radio thing is a cover story. Sammy and Lily are both searching for Jack after he got obsessed and went missing as per canon, and Lily showing up wasn’t coincidence but Sammy calling her when he had a lead (she’d been chasing a different one)

“You’re live on King Fall Am, what’s your story of the night?”

“Stevens!” came a cheery voice Ben didn’t recognize, but Sammy clearly did if the way his lips twitched in irritation was any indication, “Of all places I expected you to end up, a shitty little town in the middle of bumfuck nowhere?”

“Jacobi.” Sammy sighed, “What are you doing in the area?”

“After all these years, that’s how you greet your old buddy?” the man apparently called Jacobi chuckled, “Typical, Stevens. I’m offended.”

“Is this a conversation it’s absolutely _imperative_ to have over the air?” Sammy asked, an uncharacteristic sharpness to his voice that made Ben straighten automatically. Jacobi chuckled.

“Well, _someone_ changed his number again.” he laughed, “So when I heard your voice on a goddamn radio show, I _had_ to call in.”

“You really didn’t.” Sammy sighed, “Why did you call?”

“To catch up with my old buddy!” he sounded like he was smiling, “You would not _believe_ the year I’ve had. Give me your address, I’ll tell you all about it over breakfast.”

“Like you need me to tell you my address.” Sammy said with a little smirk, “In fact I’m positive you already have it.”

“You know me so well.” Jacobi chuckled, and Ben couldn’t stay quiet anymore.

“Uh, Sammy?” he asked, “Who’s this?”

“Who’s this?” Jacobi replied a little snidely, “I’m Stevens’ best friend.”

“Um, haha, no.” Ben said tersely, blood pressure rising a little, “ _I’m_ Sammy’s best friend, actually. And he’s never even _mentioned_ you, so-“

“Since when am I your best friend, Jacobi?” Sammy cut in with a snort, “Did Maxwell finally ditch your ass?” There was a silence on the other end of the line. It went on long enough that Ben thought the line had disconnected. And then...

“We need to talk.” Jacobi said, “I’ll be over tomorrow afternoon.”

“Is everything okay?” Sammy looked worried, the telltale furrow between his brows, “Is Maxwell okay?”

“Tomorrow afternoon.” Jacobi repeated, and then he hung up. Sammy groaned and pinched his nose.

“Who the hell was that?” Ben blurted out, “And why did he say he was your best friend when _I’m_ your best friend? And why did he call us? Why did you think he has your address, why-?”

“And lucky line seven, you’re live on King Falls Am.” Sammy completely ignored Ben, sliding smoothly into the next caller like nothing had happened. Ben blinked in bewilderment, but he couldn’t interrupt while the speaker was talking.

“Now who _was_ that handsome-sounding man?” Archie’s voice rang out, “Sammy, are you holding out on old Archie?”

“Trust me, Archie, you don’t want that guy.” Sammy chuckled, “Is that the only reason you called?”

“Actually, Shotgun, I called to inform you about some juicy gossip involving my sweet pups!”

Ben and Sammy groaned in unison, and the Jacobi Incident was forgotten for a few hours.

 

—-

 

Jacobi had oh-so conveniently chosen a time to visit Sammy when Ben was volunteering at the library. A little suspicious, if you asked Ben. So when he finally got to Sammy’s apartment, there was no one inside but the man himself. Ben let himself in with the key Sammy had given him, and called out. Then he frowned when there was no answer. He sped up a little and headed for the kitchen, heart pounding and head filled with images of what a strange man who knew Sammy’s address could have done to him. But when he reached the kitchen, Sammy was alone. Alone and nursing a half-empty glass of scotch, apparently so deep in thought he hadn’t even heard Ben enter.

“Sammy?” Ben asked again, and Sammy finally blinked up at him.

“Oh. Hey Ben.” he greeted him, “Is it that time already?”

“Are you okay?” he asked, “Did that Jacobi guy hurt you? Threaten you? Do you need me to get rid of him, because I may not be strong but I throw a mean punch and a have sharp nails and I-“

“Ben.” Sammy cut in with a sigh, “Jacobi didn’t threaten me. We just talked. It’s... It’s been a rough year for him.”

“Well, you’ve had a rough year too.” he huffed, “What could have been so important that he just _had_ to see you alone-“

“Ben.” Sammy sighed, “Forget about Jacobi, okay? You’ll probably never see him again.”

“What about that Maxwell person?” he crossed his arms, “Is she a friend of yours too? Someone else I should worry about?”

“Dead.” and his voice was a little rough, “She‘s... She’s dead.” Ben blinked, all defensiveness vanishing at the grieved look in his eyes. Whoever this Maxwell was, Sammy had clearly considered her a friend.

“Oh.” he blinked, “I’m... sorry?”

“Yeah. Me too.” he took a swig of the scotch, “She was a good... friend. She and Kepler both. Well, less so Kepler, but still. It’s weird to think they’re both gone. We all kinda thought Jacobi would be the first to kick the bucket.”

“Kepler?” Ben dug for information, craving any shred of information on Sammy’s life before. But Sammy seemed to realize he’d said more than he meant to. He gave Ben a reassuring smile.

“Forget about it.” he waved a hand, “Want a drink?”

“I want to know why that guy thought he was your best friend?” he huffed, crossing his arms. Sammy raised an eyebrow.

“You still pissed about that?”

“Yes! I am! Because _I’m_ your best friend!” he exclaimed, “And apparently you have a history with this guy, these people, and you won’t _tell_ me!”

“Ben.” he sighed, “You’re my best friend, not Jacobi. And you know I like to keep my private life private.”

“I know, and I understand, I do.” he said, “Just... trust me. Please. You’re my best friend and I love you, and I want to be a part of your life, Sammy.

“I have to leave for a week.” Sammy deflected abruptly, staring into the glass rather than at Ben. Ben’s eyes went wide.

“What?” he gaped.

“Funeral.” Sammy clarified, “Jacobi and a new... friend of his insisted on a funeral for a few lost... friends. So I’m going. Maxwell and Kepler were my friends too.”

“Can I come?”

“No.” he said instantly, “No, just... keep the station warm for me, alright?”

“Why can’t I come?” he pressed. Sammy sighed.

“Because they were _my_ friends.” he said, “Old friends. And I don’t want you to be uncomfortable, because some of them are a little... intense. Like Jacobi. And there’s apparently gonna be some people there I’ve never met, and I have no idea how that’s gonna go down. There may be some... history.”

“I don’t care. I can go!” Ben insisted.

“Ben.” Sammy said sternly, injecting that dreaded Dad Voice into his tone, “No. That’s my final answer.” Ben wilted, knowing he was defeated. He briefly entertained the idea of stowing away in his trunk, but eventually tossed the notion aside. Not worth annoying Sammy any more.

“And... you’ll be back?” he asked softly, hopefully, “You promise you’ll come back to King Falls?”

“Of course I will, Ben.” Sammy replied with a soft look, “You have my word.”

 

—

 

Sammy came back from the funeral a week later with a new weight on his shoulders and three new numbers in his phone book. He greeted everyone and gave Ben his usual big hug, but his mind was clearly elsewhere. He retired home early, skillfully dodging all of Ben’s questions and demands. Ben frowned and tried to make him come to Rose’s with him, but Sammy continued to decline until Ben was forced to let it go.

Or so Sammy thought. An hour after Sammy went home, Ben followed. He strode up to Sammy’s door and raised his fist to knock, determined to get his answers. But he paused when he heard voices coming from inside. Multiple voices. 

Lily was here. Ben could hear her telltale snark. He went silent, seeing his chance to learn more about Sammy’s past. But their voices were too indistinct. Making up his mind, he crept along the outside wall until he was directly under the dining room window. He only felt a little guilty about eavesdropping. Anything to learn more about his best friend and his strange secrets.

“-sorry I couldn’t make it.” Lily was saying, “Sounds like a hell of a story.”

“I can’t imagine what Jacobi went through.” Sammy murmured, sounding sad, “And to lose Maxwell like that...”

“Amazing that he can be in the same room as Minkowski.” she sounded like she was scowling, “And that he can still harbor some shred of affection for _Kepler_. I always knew that slimey bastard was no good, but the way he handled Maxwell’s death. Ugh.”

“I never liked Kepler.” Sammy said, “Manipulative even for Goddard. And the way he played mind games with Jacobi and Maxwell made me seriously consider asking to transfer them to our team.”

“Even those monsters deserved better.” Lily scoffed, earning a chuckle from Sammy.

“We were monsters too, once.” he reminded her, making Ben’s heart stop in dead in his chest. What did Sammy mean by that?

“I wouldn’t say ‘monsters’.” Lily said, “More like... morally grey agents. And our missions were more infiltration than ‘blowing up the office district’.”

“At least we never had to gun down civilians like Kepler’s team.” Sammy said.

“Have you forgotten North Dakota?” Lily asked dryly, making Ben’s heart stop dead in his chest.

“They were Westboro Baptist Church, they hardly count as people, let alone civilians.” Sammy chuckled, earning a laugh from Lily.

“I think that mission report was the only time I’ve ever seen Cutter laugh.” she said, “Like, a real laugh, not a death omen.”

“I was still planning my funeral in my head the whole time he was laughing.” Sammy laughed.

“Speaking of funerals.” Lily’s voice quieted slightly, Ben had to strain to hear, “How was the one for the _Hephaestus_ victims?”

“Interesting.” Sammy replied, “Definitely shed some light on why Jacobi’s been acting so different. Eiffel was... nice. And Lovelace was the perfect mix of scary and badass, Ben would have shit his pants if he met her. I’m not sure what to make of Minkowski. And of course, Jacobi was there. With... Pryce.”

“ _Pryce_?” Lily exclaimed, “ _Miranda_ Pryce?”

“The same.” he said, “But more a shell now, like Eiffel. Definitely not the woman who once tried to implant me with cybernetic hearing aids against my will.”

“That’s insane.” she said flatly, “Completely insane. Miranda fucking Pryce.”

“Lily, tell me what I missed when I was gone.” Sammy said conversationally, abruptly switching topics, “Any fun... _volte_ _faces_?”

“Actually you did miss a fun incident with Herschel.” she said easily, “Archie insulted Kingsie’s mother, so of course Herschel took issue. There was a small brawl and of course Herschel won. But then one of Archie’s bigger dogs bit him and I swear the way he jumped was a-“

And then a hand suddenly gripped Ben’s head and slammed his face into the wall, and he was out like a light.

 

—-

 

Ben woke slowly, groaning as he face came alive with pain. His hands came up to check on his nose, only to find bandages already there. Familiar hands gently pulled his hands away, and he blinked blearily at at tense dark eyes.

“Jack-in-the-Box Jesus, Ben.” Sammy sighed, “What the hell were you doing?”

“Did you slam my face into a wall?” he whined, unable to believe it. How could Sammy have moved outside so fast without Ben hearing him? And why would he hurt him?

“I didn’t know it was you.” Sammy said softly, “It was dark, I couldn’t see your face. You looked like any other prowler.”

“You slammed my _face_ into a _wall_!”

“You were eavesdropping.” Lily’s voice came from the other side of the couch, snide and biting, “What the fuck did you think you were doing, Arnold?”

“I didn’t even hear Sammy coming!” Ben exclaimed.

“Because you were too busy _eavesdropping_.” she shot back snidely.

“Lily. Let me handle this.” Sammy said firmly, double-checking Ben’s bandages, “How long were you out there, Ben?”

“Was _volte_ _face_ some kind of codeword?” Ben demanded, “Code for ‘intruder alert, talk like everything’s normal while I slam their face into a wall’?”

“Yes.” Sammy said without a hint of jest. Ben waited for a ‘just kidding’, but it never came, “Answer my question, Ben. How long were you out there?”

“You mean how much did I hear?” he asked snidely.

“Ben.” Sammy said, warning in his voice.

“What the fuck is going on, Sammy?” Ben demanded, “What did you mean you used to be monsters? Who are Kepler and Maxwell and what the fuck does Jacobi do? Cybernetic hearing aids? What happened in North Dakota? What ‘missions’? What-“

“Ben.” Sammy’s hand was gentle yet firm on his shoulder, “Stop talking.”

“What should we do with him?” Lily asked, “He could ruin everything. Compromise you.”

“Compromise what?” Sammy sighed as Ben squawked _do_ _with_ _me!?!?_ , “This isn’t a Goddard mission. King Falls, getting Jack back, this was is all me.”

“Wait, Goddard?” Ben demanded, “The tech company? The _super_ _corrupt_ tech company? Evil NASA?”

“The same.” Sammy sighed, “Lily... I’ll see you later, okay? You should go home.”

“Are you serious?” she scowled, “You’re gonna tell him?”

“He’s my best friend.” he sighed, “And he’ll probably just dig it up anyway and draw his own conclusions.” She scoffed, but stomped out, pointedly slamming the door. Sammy sighed when she was gone, muttering under his breath.

“Sammy.” Ben said quietly, trying to stay calm, “Who are you?” Sammy was quiet for a moment, and then he gave a small chuckle.

“Colonel Samuel Stevens.” he said easily, “SI-9.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They talk. And Frickard gets merced

“So the shock jock backstory?” Ben demanded, pacing across the kitchen floor, ignoring the throbbing of his nose.

“A lie.” Sammy replied smoothly, seeming completely at ease on the couch.

“The gay thing?” Ben demanded.

“True.”

“Jack Wright?”

“Is still my fiancé.” Sammy said calmly, “But also a member of my team.”

“Your black ops team.” Ben said flatly, “From Goddard Futuristics.”

“That’s the one.” Sammy nodded.

“You’re on a fucking _black_ _ops_ team, and you’ve been lying from day one.”

“I’d be a terrible operative if I didn’t.” Sammy replied, insufferably calm. It drove Ben wild.

“How _could_ you!” he snarled, “You’ve been _lying_ to everyone! To _me_! You made everyone love you and you’re _lying_ to us!”

“I have. What do you want me to say, Ben?” Sammy sighed, “You’d never even have had to learn any of this if you hadn’t eavesdropped.”

“So what was your plan?” Ben demanded, “Show up, play the victim, make everyone love you until you got Jack back, and then what? Leave?”

“Essentially.” he said without a hint of guilt, “Minus the ‘playing the victim’ part. Nothing about myself I’ve said to you has been a lie. Except the backstory. Besides that, everything else was true.”

“Even that rant the night Frickard outed you on air?” Ben demanded. Sammy sighed, looking tired.

“I knew the equipment was still broadcasting.” he admitted, “It was the perfect opportunity to get everyone feeling bad enough for me to stop picking at my background. Had the sheriff done any real research for his shitty smear ad, he’d have found that the backstory was hastily constructed and that the recordings he found was literally all there was. It was crumbs.” Ben ran a hand down his face, slumping. His head was pounding, his ears were ringing, his blood was like fire in his veins. He didn’t know how to process any of this. Sammy was a liar. Sammy was probably a killer, too. Sammy wasn’t at all who Ben thought he was.

“I... God, Sammy, I...”

“You wrote in your notebook ‘who is Sammy Stevens’.” Sammy continued, “That was the first time I really lost my cool. I wasn’t lying about you being my best friend, Ben. The idea of you finding out who I was made me so scared and angry, I didn’t know what to do. All I could do was storm out. I’m actually amazed I’m taking this as well as I am right now.”

“I see. Is there... anything else I need to know?” he asked, a heaviness settling in his heart. Sammy glanced at the window.

“Well...” he said, trailing off.

“Sammy.” Ben said warningly.

“Jacobi is a demolitions and ballistics expert.” Sammy said, “And he owes me a favor. So at the funeral, I asked him to do something for me. Really I’m doing everyone a favor.”

“What?” Ben whispered, suddenly very very afraid. Sammy glanced at his watch.

“Hm. You’ll see right about... Three, two, one.” As if on cue, a loud bang reached his ears, coming from further into the town. Ben’s blood ran cold as he saw flames in the distance.

“Sammy... What did you...?”

“I did us all a favor.” he gave Ben a reassuring smile, “Don’t worry. It won’t be traced to us as long as you act natural.”

“What did you _do_!?” Ben cried, face pale. Sammy‘s phone rang a second later, and Sammy answered it, putting it on speaker.

“Jacobi.” he greeted casually.

“Hey, Stevens.” Jacobi’s voice came through with only a few crackles, “Debt repaid in full.”

“You always do good work.” Sammy told him, a small smile playing at the corner of his mouth. Ben stared at him, mouth agape, “Thanks.”

“Such a shame about the Frickard place.” Jacobi’s voice was smug, “Who would have guessed that creep Greg would be dumb enough to fall asleep in the basement, leaving an open flame near a gas line.”

“Tragic.” Sammy shook his head before smirking, “How’d you get him in the basement?”

“Recording of Emily Potter’s voice.” he bragged, “It was easy to mix the sound clips from your show to make it seem like she wanted him to come down for a secret liaison.”

“Clever.” Sammy commented, “Then you knocked him out?”

“Then I knocked him out.” Jacobi confirmed, “So now we’re even, Stevens.“

“That joke is still not funny.”

“It is and you know it!” Jacobi sounded like he was grinning.

“Enjoy the rest of your night, Jacobi.” Sammy rolled his eyes fondly, seemingly unconcerned by Ben having a minor heart attack.

“Don’t work too hard.” Jacobi chirped, and then he hung up, leaving Ben staring at Sammy in abject horror.

“Good news.” Sammy smiled at him, “No more Greg Frickard.”

“You... You...”

“Protected Emily.” he gave a truly chilling smile, “Are you complaining?” Ben felt cold. His best friend was a murderer. A lying, scary murderer. Yet... he was still Sammy, wasn’t he? He was still Ben’s best friend, surely not _everything_  had been a lie?

“Ben.” Sammy continued calmly, “I hope this isn’t gonna ruin our professional relationship. Or our personal one. Despite what you’ve learned tonight, you’re still my best friend.”

“I... I need time to... to think about all this.” Ben stammered, “I... You wouldn’t kill me, would you?”

“Of course not.” he replied instantly, “Even if you gave me a good reason. You’re safe, Ben. From me and everyone else.”

“How can I trust anything you say?” Ben demanded, “You’ve been lying since you got here!”

“Nothing I can say will convince you.” Sammy said, eyes tightening a little, “I know that. I just have to earn that trust back.”

“Yeah, well... I know where you can start.” Ben said. Sammy blinked.

“You do?”

“Tell me about your past.” Ben said firmly, making Sammy raise an eyebrow.

“Excuse me?”

“Tell me stories. True stories. I wanna know the real Sammy.” he said, “Tell me about SI-9.”

“I can only tell you so much.” he warned him, “Non-classified stuff. And you might not like everything you hear.

“Fine by me. I can handle it.” Ben sat pointedly on the couch, leaning stiffly back with his arms crossed, “Start talking.” Sammy paused for a moment, and then he smiled. He leaned forward, eyes shining.

“Let me tell you about the time Lily and I had to break Jack out of a high-security prison after he was mistaken for a prisoner.”

“What?” Ben’s eyes went wide, and Sammy grinned.

“So it was a sunny day in Colorado when we notice that Jack hasn’t checked in in a while...”


End file.
